The question we always ask fleet managers who do not see value in using fleet maintenance software is how much heavy equipment repair is costing them.
The response is almost always the same. They all have excellent accounts payable personnel that do a great job maintaining each unit’s repair costs in their SAGE, QuickBooks, or other accounting software. Some also track their fuel purchases by unit. Some even get a nice monthly report, or more commonly a spreadsheet of their fleet revenue and expenses. All believe that between their memory, their gut feeling, the reports from their accounting software, and the spreadsheets, that they have a good handle on their heavy equipment repair costs
On the surface, basing heavy equipment repair costs entirely on your accounts payable financial records sounds logical, right? However, the usage and demands placed on heavy equipment makes it such that there is much more to consider in terms of the repair and maintenance costs. Many of these considerations are intangible, and the return on investment can only be measured over the entire life of the equipment. One thing is for certain. If you purchase anything and maintain it, it lasts longer, and costs less to operate.
Aside from obvious parts and labour costs, there are lots of costs associated with heavy equipment repair to be considered that small business accounting software just cannot give you.
What cost can one put on incorrect operator usage, abuse, and lack of heavy equipment training?
What does it cost to fix only what is broken, and not have a consistent preventative maintenance program in place that is in accordance with manufacturer guidelines? Affordable maintenance scheduling software options are available.
What is the cost of inconsistent maintenance procedures? Fleet Harmony allows you to generate an equipment maintenance checklist for all preventative maintenance procedures. Will not following manufacturer maintenance procedures and guidelines void your warranty?
How much does it cost to replace parts that should be covered under warranty? This one gets overlooked a lot. You will always remember the major overhaul, but less expensive parts are most often overlooked and their warranties are often unknown. Missed parts warranty claims can add up.
How much time do you spend researching past service details, DOT requests, and warranty claims? Researching through invoices and filing cabinets can take hours. The inability to get a complete history of maintenance can cause you to fix symptoms, not problems; and cost hundreds of dollars, or even thousands of dollars, due to the lack of timely information.
In many shops, multi-part maintenance work order forms are used. Staff will manually fill these out and have them transposed by the Accounting Clerk. How much is duplicating this work costing you? What about errors and omissions? Additionally, multi-part maintenance work order forms usually cost about a dollar each.
Now, consider Fleet Harmony fleet maintenance software with an average price of a dollar per fleet unit, per month (depending on fleet size).
It allows you to take control and manage your heavy equipment repair and maintenance costs. It allows you to schedule preventative maintenance in accordance with manufacturer guidelines and get reminders before maintenance is due. It allows you to manage both unit and parts warranty by fleet unit, and helps prevent you from overpaying for parts covered under warranty. It allows you to standardize fleet maintenance procedures in your shop so that all maintenance procedures are followed the same way - every time. It allows you to quickly get reports on your fleet to make decisions based on facts; not memory or gut feeling, or purely financial data. No more spending hours searching through purchase invoices in the filing cabinet.
Fleet Harmony trucking software includes fleet maintenance software and IFTA software. Fleet Harmony can be a vital piece of your repair and fleet safety strategy.
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